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Mango Salmon Bowls with Coconut Rice

Mango Salmon Bowls with Coconut Rice make for a healthy, hearty summer meal that captures the flavors of steamy summer nights in the tropics!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Alaska Seafood as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

If you’ve been a longtime reader {hi, Mom}, you’ve experienced the many phases of my cooking/eating habits. When I began this blog as a hobby, I shared random thoughts and musings along with easy recipes I picked up along the way as I started my cooking journey. There were a lot of baked goods. A lot. And once I realized that baking things to blog about would mean that I always had sugary treats in the house, I started becoming more practical in my choices. There was an era of chicken & ground turkey {not to mention horrific photography}, followed by a period of clean eating. I got pregnant and there was a bit of radio silence as I lost my appetite, and then regained it with a vengeance and a newfound love for mocktails. Recipes got a little more “quick and easy” as I learned how to cook with a baby on my hip, and soon after, I hit my stride as I turned my hobby into a job. Two and a half years later, here we are.

Tastes and appetites change over time, and you might have noticed that things have been a bit, well, fishy around here for the past year or so. Or maybe not… because I never did share my story about transitioning to a pescatarian diet. {Also spelled ‘pescetarian’.} Part of that was for fear that I’d lose some readers and opportunities, and because I wasn’t sure how long it would “stick.” Since this summer will mark 1 year of making that change to my diet, I figured I’d go ahead and make it “blog official.”

It’s a funny thing how these things happen out of the blue sometimes. There I was, giving no thought whatsoever to what types of proteins I was eating, when my younger sister invited me over for an exciting evening of Netflix, snacks and pineapple ciders. With no particular plans to watch anything specific, she clicked through some documentaries and we ended up watching “Vegucated.” We became pescatarians on the spot. No joke! {She did revert to meat-eating once she went back to school and encountered a “FREE CHILI” sign while on an empty stomach.} For some reason, it just felt like good timing for that kind of change, so I went with it.

Since that day, I’ve been happily subsisting on mainly vegetables and seafood {plus healthy fats, whole grains, fruit, splurges and even dairy, which makes me a “lacto-ovo pescatarian” if we’re getting technical}, with the exception of eating chicken one last time a few weeks later because I had pre-ordered my dinner for an event I was attending. For me, it wasn’t a difficult transition because I’ve never been much of a meat eater anyway, and had omitted red meat from my diet in my teenage years. Just a few tweaks here and there, and a little creativity, and I’ve had no problem coming up with delicious things to eat. {Although I do miss bacon, for which there is no replacement.} I still cook meat for my husband on occasion, but luckily he’s been on board with adding more fish and seafood into the mix.

Since fish has become one of my main sources of protein, I’ve invested some time into learning more about which varieties are the best for you and which to eat sparingly, along with becoming more educated about sustainability and environmental impact. Alaska salmon is one of the types of fish that has made it into the rotation due to its high, nutritionally dense quality, not to mention the fact that it’s easy to cook and tastes good, of course! All Alaska salmon is wild and the practices by which they’re harvested take great care to ensure that neither the environment, nor the sustainability of the species is harmed, which also makes it a top pick for me. {Incredibly, ninety percent of wild-caught salmon in the U.S. comes from Alaska’s pristine waters!} If you’re in doubt about where the salmon is from, make sure to ask your fishmonger as they usually have the lowdown on the products’ origins.

It’s nice that you can buy any of the 5 wild-caught Alaska salmon species — keta, coho, pink, king and sockeye — either fresh or frozen for convenience. I love that I can decide last minute to cook up some frozen salmon and that it only takes about 30 minutes to thaw. {You can also cook it without any thawing at all!}

Thirty minutes is plenty of time to get a head start on preparing an amazing meal that is satisfying for just about everyone, like these summery Mango Salmon Bowls with Coconut Rice.

While the salmon thaws, you can make your rice and prep your other ingredients so that everything comes together quickly once you’re ready to cook the fish. It may seem like a lot of ingredients and elements, but I promise each step is easy and the resulting flavor is SO WORTH IT.

A little coconut milk is all it takes to turn bland white rice into something rich and aromatic, and it becomes the perfect base for crunchy cabbage slaw that’s tossed with homemade mango dressing. The blackened Alaska salmon, which is seared and finished off in the oven, cooks in just minutes and is the crowning glory of this exotic-tasting dish. A few chunks of diced mango and a squeeze of lime add a sweet and tart layer of flavor to this healthy, filling bowl!

Whether you’re taking a new direction with your diet or simply trying to add some healthier options to your dinner lineup, Alaska salmon is a great solution. {Just make sure you look for the Alaska seafood logo or ask for Alaska at your fish counter to ensure that it’s the good stuff!}

As for me, I’ve really enjoyed making this change to my own diet and exploring ways to keep things interesting in the kitchen; I hope you’ve been able to benefit from some of that, too! Thanks for coming along on this ride with me and being part of what makes food exciting to make and share.

Have you ever made a big change to your eating habits? I’d love to hear your story!

Make Rice: Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and salt, and mix to coat the rice with the oil. Stir in water and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cover the pot with a lid and let simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir the rice, then cover with the lid once again and reduce heat to low. Let the rice cook until tender, about 12-15 more minutes. Fluff with a fork when done.

Meanwhile, make Mango Dressing: In the bowl of a food processor, puree diced mango, fresh lime juice, honey, coconut milk and salt until smooth. With the processor running, drizzle in the oil until fully blended and emulsified. Set aside until ready to use.

Make salmon: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In an oven-safe skillet, heat oil over high heat. Season salmon with blackened seasoning and salt. Place salmon in hot skillet and sear for about 2 minutes on one side; flip and sear for about 1 minute, then transfer skillet to oven. Bake for about 3-5 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through {should flake easily with a fork}.

Assemble Bowls: In the bottom of each bowl, place rice as a base. Divide slaw evenly between bowls. Place cooked salmon fillets on top of slaw in each bowl; add diced mango to each dish. Drizzle Mango Dressing over the top of each bowl and garnish with sprigs of cilantro and lime wedges if desired.

Notes

*If you use coconut oil, make sure to use ingredients that are room temperature so that oil doesn't solidify. If the oil becomes grainy or solid in the dressing or slaw, heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt.

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Hi! I'm Dianna. In a perfect world, I'd always be clothed in Lilly & covered in flour. But since my world is more chaos than coordination, I find my happy place in my South Florida kitchen. Here, you'll find from-scratch recipes that range from light and fresh to blissfully indulgent, and stories of my daily antics.
So, grab a fork and let's dish.